Canada impresses in loss to U.S., at NORCECA Championships

CAGUAS, Puerto Rico – Canada gained some steam for the playoff round with a strong effort in a 25-19, 25-19, 25-23 loss to powerhouse U.S., on Tuesday in round robin action at the NORCECA (North and Central America and Caribbean) women’s volleyball championships.

"I'm proud of how we executed today,’’ said Canadian player Julie Young of Red Deer, Alta. ‘’I think we played well against the 2010 and 2011 Grand Prix Champions. I'm happy that we made them work for every point and we need to use this momentum into our the next match."

The Canadian team concludes the round robin at 1-1 will now prepare for a likely quarterfinal match on Thursday. The Americans are 1-0 and are heavily favoured to wrap up Group B on Wednesday against winless Trinidad and Tobago and land one of two wildcard spots for the semifinals.

Sarah Pavan of Kitchener, Ont., led Canada with 17 points while Marisa Field of Kelowna, B.C., added eight and led the team with four blocks for points.

"Our game was a lot better today than yesterday,’’ said Canada’s head coach Arnd Ludwig. ‘’We stuck to the game plan and did a lot of things right. The USA put a lot of pressure on us all the time, and that's why we came short at the end of each set. We need a lot of matches at this level to improve our game."

In Group A, action, Mexico defeated Costa Rica 25-21, 21-25, 25-11, 25-17 and will battle Puerto Rico Wednesday for top spot in the Group. In Group C, Cuba crushed Panama 25-13, 25-15, 25-7 and faces defending champion the Dominican Republic for first place on Wednesday.

This year’s tournament winner earns a ticket to the FIVB World Cup in Japan in November.

Canadian roster for the women’s volleyball NORCECA championships set for September 12-18 in Caguas, Puerto Rico.